


lone flower

by maybemochas



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Inspired by Tangled (2010), Slow Burn, Tangled AU, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:07:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22143055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybemochas/pseuds/maybemochas
Summary: the sylvadetta tangled au we all deserve
Relationships: Sylvain Jose Gautier/Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! so a few of you might have seen me post this fic a few months ago. i took it down because anxiety got the best of me, but ive decided to put it back up. a lil refined and actually on its way to being completed this time, i hope you all enjoy my shameless sylvadetta fluff adventures

My name is Sylvain and this is the story of how I died.

Don't worry, this is actually a very fun story. And the truth is, it isn't even mine.

This is the story of a girl named Bernadetta. And it starts with the sun.

Now, once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens. And from this small drop of sun, grew a magic, golden, flower. It had the ability to heal the sick, and injured.

Well, centuries pass and a hop skip and a bump right away there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved King and Queen. And the Queen, well she was about to have a baby, and she got sick, really sick.

She was running out of time. And that's when people usually start to look for a miracle. Or in this case, a magic golden flower.

Now this would be the part in the story where the kingdom finds the flower without a problem, heal the queen and everything goes smoothly from there. But what sort of fairy tale would it be without a bit of drama?

You see, the royal family weren’t the only ones who knew about the existence of the miracle flower. The long forgotten, denounced Count Varley had discovered the flower long ago and had been using it in secret, hoarded it's healing power and used it to keep himself young for hundreds of years. All he had to do was sing a special song.

Now I’m not saying I have any personal bias against the guy. Why would I? But he was a complete absolute _moron_ who never considered to take the flower away from the kingdom where it grew just off of the main road. And when the kingdom was desperate to save its queen, a camouflaged basket covered in leaves didn’t stand a chance.

The magic of the golden flower, healed the queen. A healthy baby girl, a princess was born. With beautiful violet hair. I'll give you a hint.

That's Bernadetta.

To celebrate her birth, the King and Queen launched a flying lantern into the sky. For that one moment, everything was perfect.

And then that moment ended.

The count snuck into the castle, planning on just taking a lock of the princess’s hair and taking his piece of magic with him into hiding, like he should have done from the start.

Much to his dismay though, cutting her hair caused the snipped strands to turn black, losing all power. Not ready to give up his eternal life, the count stole the child, never to be seen again. 

Just like that...gone.

The Kingdom searched and searched, but they could not find the Princess. But deep within the forest in a hidden tower. Varley raised the child as his own. He had new magic flower, but this time he was determined to keep it hidden.

_“Why can't I go outside father?”_

_“The outside world is a dangerous place. It is filled with horrible, selfish people. You must stay here, where you're safe and be a good, obedient child. Do you understand, flower?”_

_Yes, Father._

But the walls of that tower couldn’t hide everything. Each year on her birthday, the King and Queen released thousands of lanterns into the sky. In hope that one day, their lost Princess, would return.

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

“Petra…? Peeeetra!” Bernadetta sighed as she checked behind the bookshelf for her small companion. “Where is she?” She muttered with frustration and a touch of worry.

The little hedgehog had been by her side all morning as she cleaned and reorganized everything in the tower. Again. Third time this week. But somewhere around reordering all the books from alphabetical order to cover hues she had lost sight of her.

A faint squeaking sound from the windowsill caught her attention and she huffed, immediately realizing that her small friend was playing a prank on her. She puffed out her cheeks and pouted, before a small grin spread on her lips and she slowly made her way towards the window.

“Welp, I guess she’s not here anymore... Finally decided life in the tower was too drab for such a daring little hedgehog.”

Not wanting to ruin the surprise, Bernadetta held her breath as she tiptoed carefully up to the windowsill, before she peeked her head out and laughed. “Boo!”

Petra let out a panicked squawk at the sudden appearance of the girl, nearly falling off of the ledge. Bernadetta gasped and reached out, barely catching the small creature in time. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t think it would frighten you that badly.”

After a series of irritated little chirps, the small hedgehog ran up the length of her arm and curled up on her shoulder, letting out a tiny huff. Bernadetta giggled and rubbed Petra’s head apologetically, “What can I do to make it up to you? C’mon whatever you want.”

Petra perked up and immediately ran back down her arm, sitting on the edge of the windowsill and pointing to below the tower excitedly. 

Bernadetta cringed and scooped up Petra, who immediately squeaked with disappointment. “Sorry… anything but that.”

Carrying her companion with her as she turned to go back into the main room of the tower, Bernadetta sighed as she looked around. 

“Besides! We have so many things we can do in here. There’s always more cleaning to do… Maybe we could make more candles? Or… paint! There’s gotta be some unused wall space in here _somewhere_.”

Petra looked up at Bernadetta, shooting her an unimpressed look.

“Yeah, no. I know.. It’s not ideal. But still! It could be worse.” Bernadetta said through a forced smile.

She couldn’t even tell who she was trying to convince anymore.

Another sigh escaped her as she walked up the steps and let her fingertips ghost over her latest painting. A fantasy she kept hidden from her father behind a mirror of her out in the forest, watching the floating lights that appeared once a year from afar, always just out of reach.

“Do you think now that I’m older, father might let me go see them in person this year?”

Petra squeaked uncertainly and Bernadetta smiled weakly.

“Yeah… You’re probably right.”

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

Sylvain slid down the roof, catching himself on a pillar as he looked over the kingdom with a huge grin on his face. “Wow! I could get used to a view like this.”

Miklan rolled his eyes as he pulled out the rope from his bag and began to wrap it, “Sylvain, come on already. We don’t have all fucking day.”

Sylvain held up a hand, “Shshsh, just give me a minute. Hold on aaaaand yep. I'm used to it. Guys I want a castle.”

Kronya snorted and Miklan just pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to lose his cool and flip out on his younger brother on the roof of the highest security building they had scaled to day. “We do this job, you could buy your own castle. Now can we get this shit over with?”

Sylvain sighed and shook his head as he pushed himself off of the pillar and walked towards Miklan, taking the rope the other held out with a frustrated grimace.

“You really should take a minute to smell the roses every now and then.”

Miklan scoffed, “You and I both know I lost my sense of smell ages ago.”

Sylvain shrugged. “There’s something poetic in there, just saying.”

Kronya giggled as she kicked at Sylvain’s leg, “Yeah yeah, just get going already, will ya? You lost the bet, fair and square. Drop duty is on you this time.”

Sylvain rolled his eyes as he tested the grip of the rope around his torso, “I know, just don’t forget to pull me up again. You guys have plenty of time to suck face later.”

Miklan grunted and pushed Sylvain down the opening in the roof. The younger brother was barely able to keep himself from yelping as he fell victim to gravity for a horrifying moment before the sharp tug of rope held by his brother knocked the breath out of him.

He glared up for a moment and shook his head as he focused on the crown he was being lowered towards. The second his hand wrapped around the jeweled treasure, one of the guards let out an ungoddessly sound that he could only assume was a sneeze.

“Oh, hay fever?”

The guard sniffled and nodded, “Yeah. It’s the worst… _Huh?!”_

By the time the guard whipped around to see Sylvain tug on the rope with a cheeky grin, he was already being lifted out of reach, laughing over the sound of the shouting guards trying to get him down in vain.

Sylvain couldn’t help letting out an exhilarated whoop as he dashed across the kingdom bridge, 

“Can't you picture me in a castle of my own? I mean, I certainly can. Oh, the things we've seen and it's only eight in the morning. Miklan, Kronya, this is a very big day!”

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

“This is it. This is a very big day, Petra.” Bernadetta scampered across the room as she tried to contain her nerves (and her way too long hair). If Petra saw her nearly trip over it five times in the past ten minutes the little hedgehog didn’t say anything.

She looked down at her friend and giggled nervously, “I'm finally going to do it. I'm going to ask him.”

_“BERNADETTA.”_

Even from the base of the tower her father’s booming voice was enough to make her jump with a panicked squeak. Despite the initial fear, she still managed to hang onto what little of her nerves still came from a mixture of hope and excitement.

“It's time,” she breathed.

Petra looked up at her with worry, but Bernadetta just smiled weakly and kissed the top of her head as she tucked her between the books on the top shelf by the windowsill.

“I know, I know. Come on, don't let him see you. It’ll work out, I swear.”

“Bernadetta!” Her father called from below once more, irritating seeping into his voice. “I'm not getting any younger down here.”

The girl winced as she tossed her hair over the hook outside the window. “S-Sorry Father. Just a moment!”

By the time she pulled her father up the tower, Bernadetta was completely out of breath. No matter how many times she did that it never got any easier. 

Her gaze followed her father as she fought to catch her breath and stand tall. The man sighed as he draped his cloak over the coat rack and took off his boots, not giving her much acknowledgement.

“Hello, welcome home, Father.”

He blinked and looked down at her, as if only realizing now that she was there. “Oh, Benadetta. You look exhausted. You’re so frail and yet you still somehow manage to do that every single day. I don’t know how you do it.”

Bernadetta’s face flushed, unused to the praise from her strict father. “O-Oh, it's nothing.”

The man quirked an eyebrow as he lifted some of her hair with a frown. “Then I don't know why it takes so long.”

Bernadetta froze, hating the way her entire body tensed up every time her father got close, let alone touched her. His unimpressed gaze bore into her and she didn’t dare breath until he chuckled and let go of her hair, letting it fall back into place.

The change in her posture didn’t go unnoticed by her father, earning her a look of disappointment that came with his ‘well-intended’ chastising. “Oh, darling. I'm just teasing. It’s good that you’re weak, as a proper woman should be.”

An enraged chirp from Petra caught Bernadetta’s attention immediately and all tension returned to her body as she prayed to the goddess that her father didn’t hear. Relief swept over her as he continued to move to the kitchen space unbothered. 

“Right...so, Father,” She started, biting her lip as she glanced back at Petra for a confidence boost. “As you know, tomorrow is a very big day. You, _do_ remember that… r-right?”

Her father grunted noncommittally as he went through the fruit basket, frowning as he noticed the puffy veins in his arm and reaching up to feel wrinkles forming along his brow.

“Bernadetta. Come over here for a moment,” He commanded as he stepped away from the table and turned to face the telling reflection of the full sized mirror propped against the wall.

The girl in question did as she was told, not daring to speak against him or point out how he had completely ignored what she was originally saying.

“Look at that mirror,” he instructed. This time, when Bernadetta tensed under the touch of his hand landing on her shoulder as he came up behind her, he showed no sign of noticing it.

“Do you know what I see?” He asked, his face not betraying any emotion.

She shook her head, eyes wide as she did her best to breathe as little as possible. Don’t fidget, stand straight, remain silent. Just as she had been taught.

“I see a strong, confident, young soul who has endured through countless trials.”

Her eyes widened at his words and her jaw dropped, only for him to let out an amused breath and clap his hand harshly against her back.” “Oh look, you're here too.”

His bark of laughter caused Bernadetta to flinch before she broke out into a forced fit of nervous giggles.

Clearly aware of how fake her laughter was, he sighed and rolled his eyes. “I'm just teasing, stop taking everything so seriously. No one likes a stick in the mud, young lady.”

Bernadetta twisted her hair in her hands nervously as her father walked away, laughing at his own joke. She caught a glance of Petra who gave her a thumbs up from where she watched on a support beam above.

A shaky breath left Bernadetta as she released her hair and gathered her courage. “Right, I’m sorry Father. But um, if we could get back to what I was saying earlier..? I was thinking tomorrow-”

“Flower, Father's feeling a little run down,” Varley frowned as he checked his face in the mirror. “Would you sing for me, dear? Then we'll talk.”

Bernadetta gasped, immediately running to get the brush and stool, “OH! Of course, Father. Just a moment.”

Singing for her father was exactly the sort of thing to turn the odds in her favor, why on earth hadn’t she thought of that before? He was always in such a better mood after she sang for him.

The count continued to examine himself with a bothered frown as she scampered around looking for what she needed. He blinked as the brush was suddenly forced in his hand and the world was a few inches shorter as she pushed him down and threw her hair over his lap, plopping down on the ground in front of him.

_“Flower gleam and glow, Let your power shine,”_

“Wh- wait. Bernadetta!”

_“Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, Change the fate's design. Save what has been lost, Bring back what once was mine!”_

A flash of magic washed over the disgruntled man who desperately scrambled to tangle his fingers in her hair. “Bernadetta! What in the blazes has gotten into you?”

Bernadetta ignored the sharp pain of having her hair tugged on so quickly and turned around immediately, her courage and patience wavering. “Sorry, it’s just… earlier I asked if you remembered why tomorrow was such a big day. You didn't really respond, so I'm just going to tell you.”

She bit her lip as she stood up and ran towards the calendar, pointing to the circled date.

“It's my birthday!” She chuckled nervously. “Tadaaa…”

Her eyes stayed locked on her father as he stood slowly, shaking his head with a deep frown on his face. “No, no, that can't be. I distinctly remember. Your birthday was _last_ year.”

Bernadetta felt a sinking feeling in her gut as she laughed nervously once more, “That's the funny thing about birthdays. They're kind of an annual thing…”

With a deep breath, Bernadetta did her best to fix her posture and fight the urge to tug at her hair. She’d been scolded for it so many times before. Angering her father with nervous habits that annoyed him so would only lessen her chances of her wish being granted.

“Father, I'm turning eighteen… And I wanted to ask… What I _really_ want for this birthday. _Actually what I want for every birthday…”_

Her father shot her a look of disapproval. “Bernadetta please, stop with the mumbling. You know how I feel about the mumbling, speak up. Whatever it is you have to say, you should have been able to say it by now. Stop wasting my time.”

Bernadetta clenched her fists and screwed her eyes shut tight as she practically yelled, “ _Oh for Sothis-!_ I want to see the floating lights!!”

She was too terrified to open her eyes as the heavy seconds slowly passed by. The flat response was enough to shake her nerves on its own and suddenly she wondered if this had been such a good idea.

“What?” Her father frowned.

Bernadetta’s eyes fluttered open as she looked to the side, losing ground quickly. “Well, I was hoping you would… take me to see the floating lights.”

Her father scoffed and rolled his eyes, tension leaving his body. “Oh, you mean the stars. Foolish girl, you can see those from the window.”

“No, no! That's the thing I've charted stars and they're always constant,” Bernadetta said as she ran up the stairs and revealed one of her paintings that she had crafted to look as if the stars were actually glowing through the ceiling when she opened a panel.

“But _these_ , they appear every year on my birthday, Father. _Only_ on my birthday. And I can't help but feel that they're _meant for me.”_

Pouring everything she had into her plea, she clasped her hands together as she looked to her father for a response. “I _need_ to see them, Father. And not just from my window. In _person_ … I have to know what they are.”

Her father was silent as he stared at the wall, lip pursed until he finally spoke quietly. “You want to go outside?”

Bernadetta’s eyes widened as he chuckled. “Oh, why _Bernadetta_. Look at you, you’re as fragile as a flower. You _know_ why we stay up in this tower.”

Bernadetta felt her heart sink, “I know, but…”

“That’s right young lady. It’s to keep you safe and sound, dear.”

 _“But Father!”_ She pleaded, unheard.

“Listen to me, Bernadetta,” He sighed as if he was dealing with a child. In his mind, he was. “I know what is best. I am only trying to keep you _safe_.”

It was a struggle to fight off tears as her father approached and cupped her cheek with an unnatural smile on his lips. “Do you have any idea just how much could go wrong out there, my dear? Ruffians, thugs, poison Ivy, quicksand. Cannibals, and snakes, _the plague._ ”

Bernadetta’s eyes widened as she began to shake, his grip on her face tightening as he forced her to look at him. “There are dangerous men out there who will try to lie to you. Take advantage of such an innocent young lady. Skip the drama and _listen_ to me. Someone like you doesn’t stand a chance.”

His frown deepened as he tilted her face up, “Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes, Father,” Bernadetta barely managed to choke out past tears.

His eyes searched her face before he released her, satisfied. 

A broken sob left her lips as she fell to her knees and stared down at the ground, her entire body shaking.

“Oh, and Bernadetta?” He paused after turning on his heel to step away.

Y-Yes, Father?”

She gasped as he crouched down, towering over her and blocking the light from the window. “Don't _ever_ ask to leave this tower, again.”

“Yes, Father.” She answered as she let her head fall in defeat.

He smiled and cupped her face, gently this time. “ I love you very much, dear.”

She smiled shakily as she leaned into his touch, “I love you more.”

“I love you most. Now be a good girl and get started on dinner. I’ll be back before sundown.”

“Right…”

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

“No, no no. This is bad, this is very, very bad, _This is really bad.”_

Kronya peeked over Sylvain’s shoulder, curious as to why he had suddenly stopped by a tree during their trek through the forest. “What is?”

Sylvain squawked with indignation, holding up a wanted poster with his face on it. “ _This!_ They just can't get my nose right!”

“Who cares,” Miklan grumbled as he ripped down the wanted posters with their faces on it from the tree and stalked past his brother as Kronya giggled.

“Well that's easy for you to say!” Sylvain pouted, crossing his arms as he mumbled. “You guys looked amazing.”

Putting aside the matter for the time being, Sylvain shook his head and sighed as he rolled up his sleeves. The cliff-side that blocked their path was a small one, but they still needed to climb over. “All right, okay. Give me a boost, and I'll pull you up.”

“Give us the satchel first,” Kronya said as she flipped one of her knives in her hand, a habit she’d had for as long as he could remember.

“Wha..?” Sylvain blinked before he turned around slowly. “I just…”

Miklan leveled him with an unimpressed glare and Kronya just shrugged. Obviously, the three of them weren’t quite the team the kingdom believed them to be.

“I can't believe that after all we've been together, _you don't trust me?”_ Sylvain gasped, clutching at his chest like they had wounded him.

_Nothing._

“Ouch. That hurts bro. Really wounded me there, not going to lie,” Sylvain sighed as he tossed the satchel towards Miklan who caught it with ease. 

Once the bag was passed, Miklan and Kronya helped Sylvain up, waiting until he was up on his feet to get closer. “Now help us up, pretty boy,” Miklan huffed, ready to be done with the damned job already.

Sylvain crouched down and looked at the pair, a smirk forming on his lips as he lifted the crown in his hand high enough for them to get a peek. “Sorry, my hands are full.”

 _“What?!”_ Kronya screeched as she ripped open the satchel, only to find that it was empty.

Miklan cursed as he punched at the cliff-side, causing rubble to fall. “THIS ISN’T FUNNY YOU BASTARD!”

Sylvain chuckled as he stashed the crown back into the real satchel and hooked it over his shoulder, “I don’t know. From up here, this is pretty damn hilarious.”

Ignoring the enraged yelling of the couple left behind, Sylvain spun on his heel and started to dash through the forest. He’d always been a light sleeper, so it shocked him that Miklan and Kronya really thought they could get away with talking about their plan to split the crown cash between the two of them and toss Sylvain in a ditch somewhere.

“Honestly, at least have the brains to plot more than five feet away from the sleeping brother you plan on killing,” Sylvain sighed to himself as he ducked under a branch. “Amatuers.”

The victory over his former partners was short lived as Sylvain’s eyes widened and a yelp ripped from his throat as an arrow whizzed past his head. The projectile barely missed him as it grazed his cheek and landed with a thud in the tree ahead of him.

Sylvain cursed under his breath and began to run as he heard a voice he was all too familiar with start shouting orders to the knights that had apparently been tracking him.

“Retrieve that satchel at any cost! We cannot allow the thieves to get away!”

The knights gave a strong affirmation and Sylvain’s only saving grace was that it was a lot easier to maneuver through the dense forest on foot than on horse. In a matter of minutes, he was able to lose most of the platoon with ease.

 _Most_ of them.

Another arrow whizzed past his head, far too close for comfort. Sylvain willed himself to run faster as he taunted over his shoulder. “Your aim is getting worse Ingrid! And here I thought you were supposed to be the kingdom’s finest!”

“Silence thief!” The armored woman shouted in response as she tightened her grip on the reigns of her horse. “We got him now, Felix. Go!”

Sylvain’s breathing was starting to get heavy as he tried his damnedest to outrun _a fucking horse_. In all honesty it was getting way too close for comfort until he spotted a branch low enough for him to grab just up ahead.

Not slowing down he grabbed the branch and yanked on it, releasing it so it snapped back, right into Ingrid’s face.

She screamed as she clutched at her face and fell off of her horse. If he wasn’t literally running for his life right now, Sylvain might actually feel bad.

He slowed his pace as he looked back, his eyes meeting with Ingrid’s enraged glare before she whipped around to command her horse. “Felix, _go!”_

“Oh you have got to be kidding me,” Sylvain muttered as the black and white horse actually locked onto him and started to give chase.

Sylvain ran and ducked under a branch, cursing his luck as he came upon a cliff-side. An honest to goddess cliff this time. This was a deadly drop without safer options, unlike the one he abandoned his brother at. A fallen log hanging halfway off the cliff was his only chance.

Not really having time to come up with another plan, he eased himself onto it, just as the horse, _Felix_ , apparently, caught up to him.

He smirked as he turned around, backing up slowly with his hands clutched tight around the strap over his shoulder. “Heeeya Felix. Come on now. Oh, is something the matter? Scared of heights? Aww poor little horsey.”

Sylvain didn’t have the time to contemplate how fucking _weird_ it was that the horse somehow understood his jeering. Because one second the horse was glaring at him from the cliff-side, and the next it was stepping onto the unstable log with a huff.

“Nooo.” His eyes widened as he stepped back again, pulling out his short sword, pointing at the horse who just looked down at it unimpressed.

As Felix took another step forward, Sylvain took another back. “No, stop it. Bad horsey. Bad- _Hey!”_

The sword was yanked out of his hand as Felix bit down on the blade, tossing it to the side. They both watched as it fell down the cliff, occasionally bouncing off of a tree branch as it went, eventually disappearing from sight.

“Okay now that was just rude.”

_Snap!_

“Uh-oh.”

One second the two of them were on the log and the next they were falling, Sylvain clutching onto the neck of the horse that also seemed to be screaming in fear for its life.

The fall was rough, but somehow by the end of it Sylvain found himself pushing himself off of the ground with a pained groan. Hearing movement beside him, he gasped and scrambled to get distance between him and the strangely intelligent animal.

The sound of aggravated whinnying in the distance echoed through the forest as Sylvain edged himself along the wall of vines. He let out a startled yelp as the wall behind him suddenly wasn’t there and he fell backwards, landing gracelessly on his ass.

“Owww, okay seriously?” He groaned, frustration finally starting to get the best of him. “How many more times do I- woah…”

Sylvain pushed himself off of the ground and walked forward as he looked up at a giant tower that was completely cut off from the rest of the forest. An abandoned ruin, maybe?

Not wanting to waste any time, Sylvain pulled out a few climbing spikes from the earlier job and began to scale the tower. The process was somehow a lot more terrifying to do when he didn’t have company watching his back. Even if said company had been planning his death the whole time anyways...

By the time he finally made it to the top and pulled himself in, he let out an exhausted breath. He smirked as he flipped open the satchel and admired the way how the crown gleamed from the sunlight, promising riches and a life away from everything if he could just sell the damned thing.

“Alone at last.” Sylvain sighed with satisfaction at his escape. No more running, no more crazy adventures. Just him and a one way ticket to a life of blissful solitude.

_CLANG!!!_


	2. Chapter 2

Benadetta gaped at the man she just rendered unconscious with the first weapon she could find when she heard someone coming up the tower. A frying pan.

Okay recap. A man climbed through her window. Talked to his purse… bag… _thing_... Then Bernadetta hit him over the head with a cooking utensil.

Naturally the only logical thing to do was scream. Hit first, panic later.

“Oh goddess Petra! _What do I do_?” Benadetta’s eyes were wide as she looked to her small friend for answers, only to be met but the sight of said hedgehog still starting at the man’s unconscious body on the ground in shock.

Benadetta looked between the man and the window. There was no way she could get him out of the tower without hurting or potentially killing him. Lowering a person who could keep themselves up was very different than a limp body. And she was running out of time! Her father was supposed to be back soon.

There was only one thing she could do. She had to hide him. However, that was easier said than done when the guy was literally twice her size. _How was she supposed to do this?!_

Bernadetta groaned as she crouched down in front of him and buried her face in her free hand. She shouldn’t be this close or even dare to look at him. What if he had razor sharp teeth and goddess knows what other nightmare fuel features that her father had warned her of? She knew she shouldn’t look, but curiosity got the better of her as she peeked between her fingers.

One poke at his face with her frying pan confirmed that he was completely out cold. Bright orange hair, no blood or sharp teeth… He was nothing like the men her father warned her about. He was… actually kind of pretty.

Suddenly the man’s eyes snapped open and he pushed himself up with a gasp. Bernadetta screamed and shut her eyes as she acted on instinct.

_Clang!!_

Bernadetta dropped the frying pan and covered her mouth as she gasped, “O-Oh I’m sorry!!!!”

Her apology fell on deaf ears, well… on _unconscious_ ears. But she liked to think the sentiment still counted.

The next half hour or so was spent struggling and failing miserably at trying to hide the mysterious man. Hiding him under her bed was too obvious, there weren’t any large containers she could shove him in without arousing suspicion as to why she would suddenly dump out all the contents of an old chest.

She finally decided on hiding him in the closet. The only issue was actually getting him in there. Lots of screaming, pushing, hair maneuvers and accidentally jamming his fingers in the doors of the closet, she _finally_ managed to stuff him in there, propping a chair under the handle to keep him from falling out for the fifteenth time. 

“Okay. _Okay!_ You’ve really gone and done it now Bernie. You knocked out a complete stranger and shoved him in your closet. Totaaally a normal thing to do!”

She locked eyes with Petra, who was sitting on top of said closet, shooting her a disgruntled look. When she was met with nothing more than Petra looking down at the closet doors then back up to Bernadetta, the girl groaned.

“AGH!! What am I going to do Petra?! How the hell am I supposed to explain this to Father? ‘Oh, hey Father, welcome home. By the way I have a person in my closet!”

Bernadetta paused, processing what she just said, looking between the frying pan in her hand and the closet where she’d trapped a man twice her size before a laugh bubbled out of her.

“I h-have a _person_ in my closet. Oh my goddess, I have- I have a person. In my _closet!!!_ ”

Bernadetta snorted as she twirled her weapon of choice in her hand, striking a few fighting poses as she giggled gleefully. “Too weak to handle myself out there, was that it? Well, tell that to my pan here.”

“Bernadetta!!”

A gasp escaped, her but this time rather than being filled with fright she let out a giddy, breathless laugh as she scooped up Petra and ran over to the window, holding her up so she could go to her favorite hiding spot.

“One moment Father!”

_Toss hair over hook._

“I have a big surprise!” He called up. No sign of his previous frustration in his tone.

_Brace for pain and start pulling._

“Uhhhh, I do too!” Bernadetta chuckled awkwardly.

_Don’t give anything away._

“Oh, I bet my surprise is bigger.” Her father teased, voice getting closer.

 _“I highly doubt that.”_ Bernadetta mumbled under her breath as she pulled him all the way to the windowsill.

Her father smirked as he kicked his legs over the windowsill and held up a basket, “I got a bargain on parsnips. You can make hazelnut soup for dinner, your favorite. Surprise!”

Bernadetta smiled as she took the basket. He had always thought that was her favorite for some reason but she didn’t mind. Especially not now, when she had such big news.

“Well Father, there's actually something I want to tell you-”

Her father cut her off as he patted her head dismissively, “Oh little flower, you know I hate leaving you after a fight. Especially when I've done absolutely nothing wrong.”

Bernadetta had to smother a frown as she let him walk all over her. _Nothing wrong_? 

She shook her head and sighed, pushing the frustration with her father to the back of her mind. _Focus Bernie!_ “Okay, well... I've been thinking a lot about what you said earlier.”

“I hope you're not still talking about the stars.” Her father said as he set the basket on the table.

“Lanterns. And before you answer! _Yes,_ I'm leading up to that.”

“Because I really thought we dropped the issue already.”

Bernadetta bit her lip as she pulled nervously at her hair, stepping back and making her way towards the closet. “No Father, I'm just saying, you think I'm not strong enough to handle myself out there-”

A snort. “Oh _I know_ you're not strong enough to handle yourself out there.”

“But if you just…”

“ _Benadetta_. We are done talking about this.”

“But trust me, I…”

“Bernadetta.”

“...know what I'm…”

“Bernadetta!”

“... _please…_ ”

Bernadetta’s eyes grew wide as her father whipped around, anger clear in his expression as he shouted. “Enough! You are not leaving this tower, _EVER!_ You are to stay here and you are to _behave_. All you have to do is shut up, sit down, and _do as you’re told._ When will you realize this is the only life you’ll ever have?!”

Her hand on the chair propped against the closet fell to her side as a tear rolled down her face.

Her father huffed and rubbed at his temples, “Oh, great. Now I'm the bad guy.”

Bernadetta looked up at the painting of her watching the lanterns. Of her dream. And she felt her heart break.

“All I was gonna say… is that... I know what I want for my birthday now.”

“And what is that?” Her father grumbled as he sat down at the kitchen table, a frustrated sigh leaving his lips.

“New paint..? That paint made from the white shells you once brought me. I really loved the hue…”

A tense silence hung in the room before her father finally looked up at her, still obviously agitated but not angry like before. “Well that is a very long trip, Bernadetta. Almost three day's time.”

Hands pulling at her hair as she looked down at the ground, she answered quietly. “I just thought it was a better idea than the... stars.”

A look of what was almost guilt crossed over her father’s face as he sighed and stood from his seat, to cross the room and tilt her chin up. “You sure you'll be alright on your own?”

Bernadetta nodded carefully, fighting back tears with practiced expertise. “I know I'm safe, as long as I'm here.”

Her father sighed and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, “Then I'll be back in three days time.”

She watched in silence as he prepared for the trip, not having the heart to look behind her at the closet. She stood dutifully by the window sill and handed her father his cloak.

“I love you very much, dear.”

Bernadetta smiled sadly, “I love you more.”

“I love you most.”

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

_“Enough! You are not leaving this tower, EVER! You are to stay here and you are to behave. All you have to do is shut up, sit down, and do as you’re told. When will you realize this is the only life you’ll ever have?!”_

Sylvain groaned as he shook his head, only to regret it instantly as a sharp, throbbing pain in the side of his head made him see stars. He woke up to yelling. It took him a moment to process the words but he rubbed carefully at the bump on his head as he cringed. That was some toxic parenting bullshit if he’d ever heard it before.

The rest of the conversation fell on deaf ears though as he tried and failed to stretch his limbs. He was in a cramped, dark space. Surrounded by.. women’s clothing? He struggled to peek through the slim crack of light that came from the gap of the closet doors, not really able to see much other than a looot of purple. Weird.

He sighed as he closed his eyes and tried to make himself as comfortable in the cramped space as he could. Based on what he was hearing, whoever the dad guy was didn’t seem to know he was there. And he’d really rather not have to explain his situation so he’d wait it out until he was alone and could break out without having to deal with the people who’s home he had apparently failed to sneak into.

Should Sylvain have paid more attention to the conversation? Probably. But he was more preoccupied with trying to figure out how on earth he was going to sell the crown and get out of the kingdom’s territory without getting caught. It wouldn’t be long until word spread and the chances of getting turned in for reward money got higher.

By the time Sylvain finally processed the two outside the closet had stopped talking, he realized that everything had gone completely silent. Except for the quiet sounds of crying.

He leaned forward to look through the gap again and was able to roughly make out the sight of a girl on the floor a few feet in front of him with her face buried in her hands. A part of him felt bad for the kid, but he needed to get out of here. No one had a perfect family and if he ran from his daddy issues then one day this chick could do the same. He had enough on his plate as is.

“Come on, just.. go cry in your room so I can get out of here,” Sylvain mumbled under his breath.

He let out a breath of relief as she finally got up and started to walk away. His relief only morphed into confusion as she came back and started to make her way towards the closet with a.. frying pan?

He barely shut his eyes in time to pretend to be asleep, but it was in vain as he suddenly fell forward and let out a startled yell as he barely caught himself from crashing face first into the floor. A gasp from the girl caught his attention and he turned to stop her, “Wait, hang on just-”

_Clang!!_

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

“Okay. Okay Bernie. You can do this.”

It shouldn’t have surprised her that the strange man woke up while he was in the closet. He had been in there for a little over an hour. It was a good thing she had thought to grab her weapon before pulling the chair back otherwise who knows what he might have done?

Once he was properly secured to the chair and she set up the room so there was as little light as possible in the tower, Bernadetta tucked herself behind a bookshelf and gave Petra the signal.

The little hedgehog squeaked with approval and dashed out from their hiding spot to climb up the man and settle on his shoulder. She scooted over until she was right next to his face and shut her eyes as she knocked herself into his face. Even if Petra was safe to hold, she was still quite prickly.

His eyes snapped open and he jerked away from the sharp sensation with a strangled yell, causing the small animal to make a startled noise and fall off his shoulder. Bernadetta winced and had to fight the urge to run out and scoop up her small friend, but despite being a bit disoriented Petra looked fine based on the way she glared up at the man.

He looked around and tried to move, only to find that his arms and legs were bound _way_ too tightly to a chair. “Wha..?”

More purple. What was with this place and purple?! And wait... “Is this...hair?”

“Struggling...S-Struggling is pointless!” A timid voice that sounded vaguely familiar came from a dark corner of the room. Sylvain had to squint just to make out the form of the small woman the voice belonged to. Must be the girl that he heard when he was in the closet.

She slowly started to inch her way closer, keeping pressed to the wall, then the cabinet next to her, as if afraid she would be exposed before she was ready if she wasn’t touching a stable surface. “I.. I know why you're here… And I'm n-not afraid of you.”

Sylvain blinked and looked down at his bound arms, then around the room where he noticed more and _more_ of the oddly colored hair. “What?”

His eyes widened as the girl finally stepped into the light, clutching her frying pan from earlier like it was a life line. “W-Who are you, and how did you find me?”

Welp. At least that confirmed who the crazy amount of hair was attached to. Even so, he was going to need a minute to process the batshit craziness he seemed to have walked into. And maybe a few drinks. “A-haaaah.”

The girl blinked at his dumb response and shook her head as she held out her frying pan threateningly, this time with more resolve. “Who are you? And _how_ did you find me?”

Sylvain never would have thought a fucking _frying pan_ of all things would intimidate him but he vaugely remembered said pan had knocked him out at least three times in the past day alone. He cleared his throat and did his best to appear placating as he held up his hands as much as he could given his situation.

“I know not who you are. Nor how I came to find you… But may I just say… _Hi.”_

He smirked flirtatiously as he tilted his head, ignoring the absolutely _floored_ expression the girl had as her jaw dropped. “How you doing? The name’s Sylvain and may I just say I never expected to come across a beauty such as yourself.”

The girl’s face flushed and she clutched at her pan once more as she shook her head and pointed it at his face. “Who else knows my location, _Sylvain?_ ”

He sighed as he let his head hang. So much for his romantic tactics. He frowned as he looked up at her with renewed vigor. “All right. Listen…”

“Bernadetta.”

“Gesundheit,” He joked as he dismissed the strange name. “Here's the thing. I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest. I came across your tower and… oh _shit.”_ Sylvain dropped the act and explanation as he felt panic start to set in for the first time. The fact that it hadn’t earlier considering he was literally tied up and being interrogated was something for future Sylvain to question. For now thought

“Nononono, _no_. Where is my satchel?”

Bernadetta hadn’t been expecting the panic, but she did realize that whatever was in the bag she hid earlier was clearly very important. “I hid it! S-Somewhere where you'll never find it.”

Sylvain let out a disgruntled sound and immediately started looking around the tower when he paused and snorted, pointing at the kitchen. “It's in the pot, isn't it?”

_Clang!!_

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

Bernadetta sighed as she took the lid off of the pot and pulled out the satchel. “And here I thought this was a pretty good spot,” she pouted.

The man… Sylvain. Was still wrapped up and passed out. She _really_ needed to stop hitting him with her frying pan. It was a wonder he didn’t have brain damage by now.

Her eyes scanned the tower as she hummed in thought. She needed a better hiding place… Her mind couldn’t help but wander to the sheer amount of panic that suddenly overtook Sylvain when he realized he didn’t have the satchel.

What was in it that was so important…?

Bernadetta bit her lip as she looked down at the bag in her hand. She shouldn’t.. But…

Giving in to temptation, she undid the knot that kept the satchel tied shut and gasped as she saw what was inside. She pulled it out and held it in her hands as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Goddess, for all she knew _it was_.

“Oh, Petra look at this. It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

The small hedgehog squeaked in agreement from where she sat, perched on Bernadetta’s shoulder.

“What do you think it is? Some sort of accessory?” Bernadetta wondered as she examined the jeweled tiara in awe, admiring the way it sparkled.

She stuck out her arm and placed it on her wrist. Too big to be a bracelet. A quick look showed there was no clasp, so it wasn’t a necklace… Unless, maybe she just had to pull it over her head?

Bernadetta stepped towards the mirror and lifted the object carefully as she placed it on her head. Her eyes widened at the sight of herself, tilting her head to admire the way it rested perfectly on her head. The silver piece contrasting against her purple hair almost made her feel like it was _made for her_.

Petra also seemed to be captivated until she squeaked and shook her head as if it to say _“No, I don’t think this is how it’s supposed to be worn either_.”

Bernadetta giggled and lifted the treasure off of her head, “Maybe you’re right.”

She stuffed it back into the satchel carefully, wondering where to place it when she broke out into a mischievous grin, “Oh I know _exactly_ where to hide it this time.”

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

Sylvain yelled as he felt a sharp prickling sensation in his cheek again, “Ahh!! would you stop _doing_ that!” He tried his best to rub his cheek on his shoulder and hoped he wasn’t bleeding. Oh goddess, what if they scarred his face? It was one of his only redeeming features.

A giggle caught his attention and he looked up to see the girl, _Bernadetta_ , looking pretty damn proud of herself as she crossed her arms. “ _Now_ it's hidden where you'll never find it.”

Sylvain grumbled under his breath as she frowned and looked at him more seriously, circling him like a hawk as she twirled her frying pan in her hand. It reminded him too much of how Kronya would do the same whenever she was on a hunt with her knives. He tried not to think about it too much.

“So, what do you want with my hair? To cut it?”

“What?” _Again with the hair? Seriously?_

“Sell it?” Bernadetta frowned as she stuck her weapon of choice in his face threateningly.

“What?! No! Listen, the only thing I want to do with your hair is to get out of it! _Literally.”_ Sylvain grunted as he emphasized his point by struggling to get out of his restraints, but to no avail.

Bernadetta blinked dumbly at him, letting her frying pan hang at her side limply. “Wait, you... _don't_ want my hair?”

Sylvain shook his head, completely baffled. “Why in Fódlan would I want your hair? Sure it’s pretty or whatever but it’s just hair. Really… long hair.”

A strange look of distrust crossed over Bernadetta’s face but he paid it no mind as he sighed, “Look, I was being chased, I saw a tower, I climbed it, end of story. That’s _it_.”

“You're... telling the truth?” 

“YES!” Sylvain shouted, completely exasperated. Goddess would this day ever end?

Bernadetta bit her lip and crouched down, scooping up her hedgehog friend and turning away from Sylvain to discuss the situation.

Sylvain gawked as he heard a series of chirping sounds and the crazy girl actually _talked back_ to the thing.

“I know, but he's someone that can take me.”

Alright time to get the hell out of here before he was killed by some crazy purple chick in a tower.

“I think he's telling the truth.”

Sylvain threw his weight to the side, trying to edge the chair towards the window unnoticed.

“Nothing I think, but what choice do I have?”

He sat up straight and tried to pretend like he hadn’t just been trying to escape as Bernadetta turned around and looked at him skeptically.

“Uh, okay _Sylvain_ I'm prepared to offer you a deal.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her, not liking where this was going at all. “A deal?”

She nodded, gaining momentum as she tugged on her hair and headed up the staircase. “Look this way.”

Sylvain cringed as the chair spun just a bit too quickly and he held his breath as he almost toppled over.

“Do you know what these are?”

He glared up at Bernadetta her voice drawing his attention away from his predicament as he looked between her and a painting behind her. “You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?”

Her entire face lit up as she looked down at her pet and gasped, “Lanterns… I _knew_ they weren't stars Petra!”

The animal squeaked at her and she nodded, “Right.”

Looking back at Sylvain she made her way back down the stairs, frying pan in hand. “Well, tomorrow evening they will light the night sky, with these _lanterns_.”

Sylvain opened his mouth to protest, but she simply pointed her weapon at his face as she continued, a bit out of breath as she spoke more daringly than she had in years. “You will act as my guide, take me to these lanterns, and return me home safely. Then, and _only then_ , will I return your precious satchel. That is my deal.”

She let out a triumphant little huff and had to fight back the urge to smile. _Who was she?_ This was so unlike her. It was surreal.

Sylvain looked at her, completely unimpressed as he leaned back, trying to create some distance between his hopefully undamaged face and her frying pan. “Yeah, no can do. Unfortunately, the kingdom and I are not exactly _simpatico_ at the moment. So I won't be taking you anywhere.”

Bernadetta let out an exasperated groan and he chuckled dryly. “Me and you both, kid.”

She looked up at him and glared, the first sign of actual anger he’d seen from her. Despite her size and obvious anxiety he actually felt intimidated for a moment as she wrapped her hair around her hand and _pulled_.

He gasped as the chair lunged forward and she stopped it with her hand, inches away from his face. Was it weird he was a little turned on by this? Yes. Definitely. Priorities Sylvain, come on.

“Something brought you here, Sylvain. Call it what you will, fate, destiny-”

Sylvain snorted at the irony of it all. “A horse.”

Bernadetta blinked in surprise before she shook her head and frowned, continuing her speech. “So I have made the decision to trust you-”

“A horrible decision, really.”

“But trust _me_ when I tell you this. You can tear this tower apart, brick by brick, but without my help? You will _never_ find your precious satchel.”

The two of them glared at each other in a silent battle of will until Sylvain finally sighed and let his head hang in defeat. “Let me just get this straight. I take you to see the lanterns. Bring you back home. Then you'll give me back my satchel?”

Bernadetta nodded. “I promise.”

Sylvain glanced up at her, looking completely unconvinced. “And when I promise something, I never ever break that promise. _Ever.”_

Still not convinced. He’d gone an entire lifetime being lied to and cheated, _especially_ by women. Bernadetta wasn’t the first to try to use him and she wouldn’t be the last.

“All right, listen, I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes the _smolder.”_

Sylvain tilted his head and shot Bernadetta an endearing yet sexual look, holding eye contact only to feel himself start to crack as she just looked at him as if he were crazy. “This is kind of an off day for me. This doesn't normally happen.”

Bernadetta just looked down at Petra, who simply put up a fist and mimicked the gesture of beating up Sylvain, causing Bernadetta to snort.

Sylvain groaned and threw his head back, realizing he wasn’t going to get anywhere with this weird chick. “Fine! Y’know what? _Fine._ I'll take you to see the lanterns.”

Bernadetta gasped, as she perked up, releasing her grip on the chair completely. “Really?!”

Sylvain shouted as he felt to the ground, unable to protect himself from the crash.

“Oops…” Bernadetta cringed as she looked down at him.

A pained groan was all she got in response as she bent down to help her new guide. “You broke my smolder.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cringes at the old art*  
> if i draw more scenes for this fic i promise theyll look better than that lol  
> that being said if youd like a link to where i posted the art, you can find it [here](https://maybemochas.tumblr.com/post/188609372978/ayy-lmao-god-i-wish-tumblr-quality-didnt-hate)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god im sorry if this is a mess

“You coming, Bee?”

Bernadetta stared down out of the window, her heart beating wildly in her chest. 

The wind caused her small form to sway from where she stood at the edge of the windowsill. If it wasn't for the death grip she had on the tower wall, she would certainly fall to her doom. 

Sylvain had already scaled down half the tower. He made it look so _easy_. Yet there was timid little Bernie. Still at the top, biting her lip as her shaking legs threatened to give out under her.

“I don’t know about this Petra…" she breathed, uncertain. "It’s such a big world out there and goddess, all those horrifying things Father told me about…”

Knowing just how hard this was for Bernadetta, Petra nuzzled the girl's cheek carefully, which comforted her a bit. 

“I don't know," Bernadetta sighed as she looked behind her at the home she'd known for so long. "Maybe I shouldn’t…"

Petra chirped disapprovingly at her, which seemed to spark a fire in Bernadetta as she shook her head. "No. No! I’ve waited way too long for this, I might never get another chance.”

Bernadetta stood up straight as she steeled herself and tossed her hair over the hook outside the window. She glanced down at Petra to make sure her small friend was ready and giggled as Petra tied some hair around her tummy and squeaked to show she was ready.

“Alright… here goes nothing.”

Meanwhile, Sylvain huffed as he continued to make his way down the tower alone. This entire day had been a mess and to make things worse, he was going to get to the bottom of this tower without the crown. 

The last thing he wanted to do was scale the tower again to get his satchel, but at this rate it seemed he very well might have to if the crazy girl with the even crazier hair didn't get a move on.

Sylvain rolled his eyes as he stuck one of his spikes in the tower and lowered himself further. “All that talk for-”

_“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”_

“Nothing?!”

Sylvain’s eyes widened as a blur of purple shot past him, death gripping the spikes in his hand as he looked down.

Bernadetta’s screams dissolved into a fit of giggles as she slid down the length of her own hair. Petra continued to scream at the top of her tiny lungs, but it seemed to be a thrilled excitement more than fear and it was contagious.

Adrenaline filled Bernadetta's veins as laughter bubbled out of her and the world passed her by.

It all came to an abrupt halt as Bernadetta suddenly grasped onto her hair tightly to stop her descent. She just barely managed to stop in time, her body swaying no more than a foot above the ground as she looked down at the grass with wide, frightened eyes.

It took her a moment to gain the nerve. Slowly but surely, she lowered her bare foot towards the surface, only to gasp and pull her leg back up abruptly, not expecting the grass to be cold and slightly damp to touch. A giggle bubbled out of her as she put down both feet, standing on the outside ground for the first time.

She didn’t notice Sylvain jump down off of the rest of the tower, landing with a grunt and coming up behind her, watching curiously as she laughed and knelt down, running her hands through the grass.

 _“Goddess, Petra!”_ She breathed. “It’s just how I always dreamed it would be.”

Bernadetta gasped as a breeze swept against her and the sounds of birds above, caused her to look up, grinning as she saw something other than a ceiling but the actual _sky_ , completely unblocked by anything man made. Just trees.

Another laugh bubbled out of her as she stood up, stepping forward only to gasp as she stepped into a small stream. She turned around and looked at Sylvain, actual stars in her eyes. “This is amazing!”

Sylvain blinked, processing that, _holy shit, she’s seriously never gone outside before_. He chuckled and rubbed at the back of his neck, “Heheh, yeah. It’s pretty great.”

Bernadetta grinned as she began to explore slowly one step at a time. Each step forward was less timid than the last and in no time at all, those steps got faster and wider until she was sprinting across the forest ground.

“There’s so much space! I can actually _run_.” She breathed as she ducked under the vines that hid the entrance to her hidden prison called home. 

Her chest felt light as she took in every detail, seeing past the view of the tower for the first time in her life. 

“I can't believe I did this.” She giggled as she covered her mouth. A twinge of doubt pricked at her heart, causing her eyes to widen and arms to fall slack by her sides.

“I can't believe I did this…”

Sylvain walked up behind her, quirking an eyebrow at the sudden mood swing, “Uhhh..”

And that was how the next solid half hour went. Sylvain had whiplash from how one second Bernadetta would be running around and laughing, playing with flowers and all sorts of things like some sort of forest nymph to lying on the ground and berating herself for every life choice she had ever made leading up to this moment.

“I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THIS!” she giggled as she rolled down a hill, accidentally getting wrapped up in her hair, something Sylvain spent several minutes trying to help her out of. Straight into, “Father will be so furious.” and crazed mumbling under her breath to her strange pet… frog… _thing_ that seemed to be struggling to keep up with it all just as much as Sylvain was.

It was somewhat amusing to watch until finally she cracked completely and started to hyperventilate between sobs, curling in on herself as she clutched at her arms.

Sylvain carefully crouched down and debated putting a hand on her shoulder, not knowing what to do. He glanced over to Petra, something he’d normally think was foolish, but he actually honest to goddess got a small shake of the animal’s head as if warning him that touching Bernadetta like this would just make it worse.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he tried to figure out what to do.

“You know," he started slowly. "I can't help but notice.. you seem a little at war with yourself here.”

Bernadetta let out a broken laugh as she rubbed her red-rimmed eyes, “R-Really? Can’t imagine how I gave off _that_ impression.”

Sylvain cringed, “Sorry, not a great start… Look, I may only have bits and pieces here but it seems like this is pretty important to you.”

Bernadetta peered up at him, her sniffling becoming more sparse as she listened. Okay, that was good. Maybe he could make this work for the both of them. 

“This is serious stuff, but hey! This is part of growing up. A little rebellion here, a little adventure there. That's good, _healthy_ even.”

Looking slightly calmer, Bernadetta let out a small chuckle as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “You really think so?”

Sylvain nodded. “I know so. You're overthinking this big time.”

He sighed as he watched her wipe the tears off of her face. This was… admittedly a perfect chance to talk her out of this whole thing. But he heard the way her father talked to her. He heard the mindset that guy had and it rubbed him the wrong way. Hell it reminded him too much of his own father in a lot of ways and he couldn't send her back to that sort of life in good conscience.

An idea began to form in his mind and had to fight back the smirk he could feel spreading on his lips. This would be perfect.

“Look, if you don’t want to go back, that’s okay. And if this whole deal becomes too much? We can break it off. I won’t take you to the kingdom if it’s too overwhelming and you can just give me back my satchel and we’ll go our separate ways.”

_“No!!”_

Sylvain flinched at the sudden shout, and Bernadetta looked surprised by her outburst herself.

“S-Sorry, it’s just.. I want to go. I need to see the lanterns in person," Bernadetta insisted desperately.

 _"Please_ ," She begged.

A moment passed, then two.

Bernadetta was almost ready to get on her hands and knees when Sylvain finally relented with a sigh, “Alright, alright.”

He pushed himself off of the ground and held out his hand, pulling her up to a standing position. “But there’s somewhere I want to take you first. Consider it… a necessary detour.”

Bernadetta tilted her head curiously, “Necessary detour?” 

She was reasonably skeptical. But before she could poke and prod at Sylvain for answers, a loud rustling from a nearby bush caused her to squeak. She quickly hid behind Sylvain, practically crawling onto him as she grasped at his broad shoulders like her life depended on it.

Sylvain grabbed one of her arms to keep her from falling and taking him down with her, and had to bite back a curse as she accidentally grabbed onto his throat as she scrambled for purchase. When she had equipped her frying pan again, he didn't know. But sure enough, the offending metal piece was pointing defensively over his shoulder as Bernadetta asked with a quivering voice,

“W-What is it? Ruffians? _Thugs?!”_

It took a lot for Sylvain not to burst out laughing. The fear was reasonable considering her anxiety, but based on the lack of soldiers jumping out, he figured whatever it was, it wasn’t dangerous. Oh goddess. Unless it was a certain horse. Then they were fucked. Or at least, _he_ was.

His resolve broke as a small bunny finally jumped out of the bush, sniffing the air curiously. He broke down into a fit of laughter, snorting as he pat at Bernadetta’s arm, “Stay calm Bee, it can probably smell fear.”

Bernadetta laughed nervously before sighing in relief. She allowed herself a moment to slump against Sylvain before she realized she was clinging to a man she barely knew. With a squeak, she quickly scrambled off of him before covering her reddening cheeks with her palms in attempts to hide her embarrassment.

Sylvain smirked, having seen the whole thing. 

_Cute_.

“S-Sorry," she apologized as she tugged at her purple locks in nervous habit.

Picking up on the subconscious action, Sylvain ruffled her hair. It only caused her to pout, cheeks reddening even more and his smirk all the wider. 

“Don’t worry about it," He grinned. "Come on, we better get going if we want to get to that detour I mentioned.”

Bernadetta hooked her frying pan on the latch she attached to her dress tilted her head curiously, “Where exactly _are_ we going?”

Sylvain chuckled, “Don’t worry. You’ll know it when you smell it.”

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

Meanwhile, off in a darker part of the forest, Bernadetta’s father was making his way to the shore he had promised to get shells from. While he didn’t want to make the journey, he knew that this would at least placate Bernadetta until the next year.

She was a timid girl, but when it came to things like this she was unpredictable and he couldn’t risk her leaving or finding out who she really was.

The sound of rustling nearby had him reaching for his dagger immediately, not that it did him any good. The sudden blur of something jumping out at him had him falling back on his ass with a startled scream.

Momentary fear seized the man, but when no blade fell, he opened his eyes.

In front of him was a raven colored horse that looked just as surprised as he felt, before the beast huffed and looked more annoyed than anything.

A chuckle escaped him at his own foolishness as he pushed himself off the forest ground and shook his head. “Well that was rather unnecessary. It’s just a Palace horse… _Wait_.”

Ice cold panic flooded his veins as he took a closer look at the horse. The empty saddle that bore the royal crest. “Where's your rider?”

Not sparing a second glance, the count made a mad dash for the tower, fearing the worst.

He made it back in record time, belongings abandoned in the forest. Yet even then, he knew the eternity wasted on his fool's errand had cost him too grave a price.

“Bernadetta!” he shouted, out of breath from the sprint as he pushed aside the foliage that hid the tower's grove out of sight. 

It was quiet. Too quiet.

“BERNADETTA!” he screamed, panic turning to rage as he marched around to the back of the tower. In a fit of desperate rage, he tore down the vines that covered the secret entrance at the base of the tower and kicked in the rusted door.

Despite knowing exactly what he would find when he burst into the tower, an enraged scream l ripped from his throat nonetheless as he saw himself in the mirror that stood in the unlit tower, no Bernadetta in sight.

He clenched his fist and smashed it into the mirror, causing glass to shatter and spread across the floor. The count cursed under his breath as he looked down at his bloodied fist, shards sticking out of cut flesh, stained in red.

He turned to find their rarely used medical supplies, when a flash of light blinded him momentarily. There was something shining crammed under the loose step in the staircase he always said he would fix then never got to.

The wood of the step splintered as he ripped it off, revealing the satchel that Bernadetta had hidden before she left. The count dropped the bag, gasping like it had burned him as he was faced with the royal crown.

“No…”

A piece of paper slipped out of the bag and a frown tugged at his lips as he lifted it, reading a name he hadn’t heard in years.

“Sylvain…” A raspy chuckle escaped him before he threw his head back and practically roared with laughter.

He ripped the poster into shreds and grabbed the satchel and the crown, as he moved with purpose.

“Those damned Gautier’s. I won’t let them take what’s rightfully mine. Not again.”

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

“I know it's around here somewhere,” Sylvain grumbled as he looked around and stepped over a broken branch.

“Ah! There it is," He finally exclaimed as he stepped into a clearing. "The Golden Deer.”

“The Golden… Deer?” Bernadetta repeated, curious as she peeked past him to get a better look. She had actually almost expected to see a golden faun, so she felt all the more foolish when she saw a building with a hanging sign of a golden deer.

Sylvain smirked as he took her hand and led her towards the building, “It’s a pub. Sort of a hotspot for all of the odd ones out. Used to come here sometimes when I needed to find a job, although I highly doubt anyone here remembers. I was just a snot nosed kid at the time.”

Bernadetta bit her lip as they approached the door, pulling her hair into a bundle in her arms as she walked. Sylvain noticed her apprehension and sighed.

"Look, I know you've never really done the whole _public establishment_ thing before. But it'll be fine," he smiled reassuringly. 

"Besides," He added with a bit more pep as he helped her gather the rest of her hair. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Bernadetta opened her mouth to list off the hundreds of things that could go wrong, but felt any words she had prepared die on her tongue as he opened the door without warning and gently pushed her forward.

She gasped as a million different things hit her at once. The sheer amount of voices speaking at once, all the different appearances. She had never seen so many people of varying shapes and sizes before. There were people big and small, all genders and if she took the time she was sure that almost every color of the rainbow was in the room when it came to just how much variety there was in every person’s clothing.

It fascinated her, but she was also _terrified_. For as many new colors and scents she was seeing there was a weapon of some sort with at least half of the people in the crowded pub and it was enough to make her blood run cold.

Which is exactly why she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a tug on her hair and realized there was a person right behind her, looking over it with wide eyes that only seemed larger due to his circular glasses.

"That's a lot of hair,” The smaller man muttered as she ran away with a squeak and the hair simply continued to run through his hands.

She vaguely processed someone chiding the man apparently named "Ignatz" for touching a lady's hair without permission, but she was too focused on trying to spot a place to hide to particularly care.

“She's growing it out,” Sylvain grinned as he let the front door finally close behind them once the last of Bernadetta’s hair was finally inside.

By now, all eyes were on Bernadetta and the pub had almost gone completely silent aside from the murmurs between patrons that were no doubt about the strange girl with what appeared to be miles of purple hair.

"Goddess damn, Sylvain is that you?" A man in yellow with a braid in his hair broke the silence from where he stood behind the counter.

Sylvain made a show of being overly comfortable as he nodded and took a step forward, "Heeeey Claude. Wasn't sure if you'd still be here or not since…"

"Ah, ah, ah. Hold up," Claude frowned as he stepped out from behind the bar. "No wanted men in the Golden Deer. Was made pretty clear why you had to leave."

"Right you are," Sylvain grinned as he lied through his teeth with ease. "But I am currently not wanted, therefore there's no reason to send me packing or worse."

“Hm, is that so…” Claude crossed his arms, looking entirely unconvinced. His gaze flicked briefly towards the man who had been inspecting Bernadetta’s hair just moments ago. “Ignatz. Check the board, will ya?”

"Sure thing, Claude."

Bernadetta bit her lip as Ignatz slipped past her to get to the board on the wall covered with job postings and wanted posters, eyes darting to Sylvain who seemed tense despite the smile on his face.

_Was Sylvain really a criminal?_

She never did stop to asking him why that sparkly thing in the satchel was so important… what if it wasn't his? Would that make her a criminal too?

As Bernadetta lost herself to her own spiraling anxieties, Claude kept a sharp eye on the two, mainly frowning at Sylvain for barging in unexpectedly.

"Listen," Sylvain started slowly as the pub's chatter began to start up again and people lost interest in the unresolved tension. "I promise I'll be out of your hair before you know it. I just need a favor."

Claude shook his head, "The last time I did a favor for a Gautier, the guard took half my coin and threatened to shut down the Golden Deer for aiding and abetting a wanted felon."

"I promise this is different," Sylvain insisted. "It's not even for me."

Claude's eyes widened slightly at that and Bernadetta definitely didn't imagine the way he gaze briefly shifted from Sylvain to her.

While he clearly took an interest in her questionable features, he wasn't convinced. "Are you trying to get me to shelter one of your lays?"

Bernadetta's face flushed as Sylvain sputtered, lost for words at the accusation. _A well founded assumption,_ he admitted, but not something that had remotely crossed his mind since they left the tower.

Before Claude could comment on the bizarre reaction from playboy _Sylvain_ of all people, Ignatz interrupted as he finally looked up from the poster he had been squinting at, stepping forward and holding it up in front of Sylvain. “Isn't this you?”

Sylvain frowned and plucked the wanted poster out of Ignatz’s hand, immediately groaning as he looked at the poster that had comically gotten his nose wrong. “No, no. Now this is just being mean.”

Claude grinned mischievously as he looked at the flyer, “Oh, it's him all right. _Not currently wanted_ , my ass. Caspar, go find some guards.”

Sylvain went rigid as the flyer was snatched from his hands. His wide eyes met Bernadetta’s and he pointed towards the door with a look that was entirely unconvincing if he was trying to imply he had things under control.

The man in armor that Claude had spoken to cheered loudly and chugged the rest of his beer before slamming it on the counter and standing up.

“Oh, hell yeah! I can use the money. I’ll be back before you know it.”

The man was gone in a flash, not faltering in the slightest as an orange-haired woman shouted at him from where she was cleaning her weapons on the bar counter. 

"Hey, wait! What about me? I'm broke and you still owe me!"

Caspar only laughed loudly as he burst out the front door, letting it slam behind him without a care.

"Sorry Leonie," Claude called out. "But if anyone's collecting the ransom it’s me. Gotta keep this place running somehow… Speaking of running though,"

Sharp eyes immediately flicked towards Sylvain who has been trying to use the distractions as a cover to escape. "Raphael, if you would."

Sylvain yelped as a large man suddenly grabbed him from behind and lifted him as if he weighed nothing.

Raphael shot Sylvain a semi-apologetic smile before looking to Claude for instruction.

Claude sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before he gestured towards one of the support beams. "Just tie him down to the pole until the guard gets here."

"Wait, no please…" Bernadetta's voice was barely more than a whisper as she watched with wide eyes. She didn't know what Sylvain had brought her here for, but she knew it wasn't _this_.

"Fellas," Sylvain laughed nervously as Leonie tossed Raphael some rope that she just had on hand, because yeah, apparently that's normal. "Can't we try to work this out?"

"You know," Ignatz spoke up, seeming nearly as nervous as Bernadetta felt. "We all don't have the cleanest hands either. Maybe bringing the royal guards to our home base isn't the best idea?"

Bernadetta nearly got her hopes up, but Claude only frowned as he grabbed one end of the rope and tried to help Raphael. Sylvain had started trying to kick and squirm his way out of it, but he wasn't really much of a match for a man twice his size holding him down.

"I hear what you're saying Ignatz, which is _why_ we need to rack up some credibility while the taking is good."

"I say we just take care of him ourselves," a petite girl with white hair chimed in as she joined in on the conversation.

Sylvain continued to struggle, causing Raphael and Claude to raise their voices as they tried to keep him down. Which only added to the increasing volume as more voices chimed in and arguments over what to do sparked into a wildfire of chaos.

Bernadetta just stood by the door, unsure what to do but knowing she had to do _something_.

"Please-"

More yelling. More fighting.

"If you could just-"

Something towards the back of the room crashed and with it something in Bernadetta snapped as she locked eyes with Sylvain who was seconds away from having his wrists bound behind him as he was held in place.

She looked around to see what she could access and then she saw it. One of the smaller support beams on the ceiling was loose.

As chaos continued to escalate around her, Bernadetta dropped her hair and quickly reached down to find the end of it. With a practiced toss, her hair looped around the beam and she pulled.

_“Put him down!”_

**_Crash!_ **

Silence flooded her ears as all eyes landed on her. The beam had broken loose and fell right in front of Claude. If he hadn't jumped back in time, it would have taken him out.

Bernadetta was shaking as she let out a frustrated huff. She knew she just dug her own grave but she had to do _something_.

“Okay, look. I don't know where I am and I have no clue where I'm going. I'm sure you're all lovely people and if I could give you the money you want I _would_. But I've never left home before ans I need Sylvain to take me to see the lanterns, because I've been dreaming about them my entire life and _he_ is literally the only chance I have at finally seeing them in person so I need you to let him go! _Please._ ”

Despite her frustration she found herself practically begging as she looked between Claude and the others with exasperation. “Find your humanity! Haven’t any of you ever had a dream?!”

Bernadetta’s resolve quickly faltered as she realized with a squeak that everyone in the pub was looking at her with shocked expressions. 

Even Sylvain, who was literally five seconds from being tied to a post, was gaping at her with wide eyes. Bernadetta immediately hid her flushed face behind her frying pan and Sylvain's expression quickly morphed into concern as Claude quirked an eyebrow at Bernadetta and snapped his fingers.

Raphael shrugged and hooked Sylvain up onto the metal loop at the top of the pillar by his shirt. Sylvain cursed under his breath as he tried to get himself down. “Hey, wait! Leave her alone, she’s got nothing to do with this Reigan.”

Claude rolled his eyes and waved him off, “Oh can it Lover Boy, I’m not going to do anything.”

He circled around Bernadetta and hummed as he stroked his chin thoughtfully, examining her. “I _did_ think it was weird such a pretty lady like you was with someone like Lover Boy over here. Yet, what do you know. You have some spark after all!”

Claude clapped her on the back, causing her to yelp in surprise as he let out a hearty laugh. “You’d fit in just fine with the Golden Deer. What’s your name?”

“B-Bernadetta.”

Apparently it was someone else's turn to come over and get up in Bernadetta’s space, because before he could get in another word, Claude was immediately pushed out of the way by the pink-haired girl Bernadetta had noticed earlier.

Her hands immediately picked up long purple hair and the woman gushed as if all the commotion had never happened, “Aww, Bernie? Well now that the boys are done doing _their_ silly little thing I can finally get my hands on you."

Bernadetta blushed as the woman looked over her hair in awe. "My name is Hilda, by the way," she mentioned as an afterthought more than anything before returning to her inspection.

"By the goddess, this _hair_. How in Fódlan did you manage to grow it out so long? It's so smooth too!”

A woman with sky blue hair came up behind her and stuttered, making Bernadetta feel a lot less out of place just by speaking. It was a relief to see that she wasn’t the only one overwhelmed by everything.

“Hilda, you– you shouldn’t just touch her without permission.”

“What's that Marianne–" Hilda started before she gasped and let go of Bernadetta's hair like it had burned her. "Oh, I’m sorry! I just couldn’t help myself! It’s so beautiful.”

Bernadetta’s face was as red as a tomato as she looked down at her feet. “T-Thank you… I’ve never been called beautiful before.”

Another dramatic gasp left Hilda as she grabbed Bernadetta’s hands, forgetting that she literally was _just_ told by Marianne to chill.

“What?! How the hell is that even possible?” She whipped around and looked at Sylvain who was still hanging by his shirt, several feet in the air.

“What kind of boyfriend doesn’t tell his _extremely_ pretty girlfriend how nice she looks?! Men these days, ugh!”

It was Sylvain’s turn to turn red as Bernadetta nearly fainted behind Hilda as she sputtered out incomprehensible denials.

“Hey hey, woah! First off, I am a proper fucking gentleman. Thank you. Second of all, Bee isn’t my girlfriend! We just have a deal that we’re helping each other out with. That's it!"

Hilda crossed her arms and huffed, completely unconvinced until Marianne took her hand and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Come on dear, w-we should leave them be. Can we go finish our tea now that things have settled?”

It was clear Marianne was the glue that held this group together as he girlfriend practically melted as she leaned on her and cooed lovingly, “Ohh alright, anything for you cutie.”

Marianne giggled into her hand and shot Bernadetta a kind smile before leading her energetic girlfriend to the back of the pub and away from the main group.

"Now look as sweet as all that girl bonding time stuff is, if you guys aren't going to get me arrested then could you at least _get me down?"_ Sylvain cut in, looking absolutely miserable from where Raphael had hooked him like a fish.

Half of the pub had gone back to their own activities, while the rest looked to see what their leader would decide. Claude looked from Sylvain to Bernadetta's pleading gaze. He momentarily glanced to his confidant, but Hilda had already gone to making lovey-eyes at Marianne.

"Ugh, alright fine." Claude finally relented as he wiped a hand over his face.

Sylvain cheered and Bernadetta let out a sigh of relief, lowering her frying pan and hooking it on her dress once more now that the threat was finally gone.

Claude just shook his head and jumped over the bar counter. "I swear you all will be the death of me. I need a drink."

Bernadetta giggled, a bit sympathetic. Her attention was immediately drawn back to Sylvain as she quickly made her way towards where he was finally being let go.

"Do I weigh _anything_ to you?" Sylvain asked, disoriented and actually impressed as Raphael lifted the smaller, yet still reasonably large man and set him down on the floor.

Raphael let out a booming laugh and pat Sylvain's back, "Nah, not really. It's like holding a couple of grapes."

Sylvain coughed, nearly getting the breath knocked out of his lungs from the gesture. He clutched his chest as he tried to regain control over his breathing as Bernadetta looked at him with concern.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, coughing once more before he was good. "Yeah, I'm fine… Um," He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Thanks. For not ditching me… and nearly killing Claude."

Bernadetta immediately scrambled to apologize, looking over her shoulder with a red face as Claude listened in not too far away as he worked on his drink. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to almost kill you, I swear!"

Claude shrugged with a smirk, "Don't worry about it." His eyes glinted mischievously as he looked over her. "If you want to make it up to me, you could tell me the story behind your hair."

Bernadetta's face paled as Claude's inquisitive gaze bore into her, as if he could already see all her secrets. 

"It's not like hair that long is exactly _normal._ Where did you say you were from again?"

Bernadetta struggled to form words as a hand landed on her shoulder from behind. Sylvain gave her a reassuring squeeze as he smiled evenly, 

"She's scared of scissors. Any blade, really. Hence the frying pan instead of a sword. Not cutting her hair seemed to get away from her more than most."

A silent standoff settled between the two as Sylvain's grin didn't falter in the slightest and Claude's dangerous sights landed on him for just a moment too long before he broke into a lazy cheshire grin.

"Ah, I see. Fair enough," He nodded as he drank from his pint. "Can't say I've quite seen anything of the sort around here before. You gotta be careful with who you're around. Some people can be downright evil when they find something special."

Sylvain's carefree demeanor shifted into something more serious as he let his hand fall from Bernadetta's shoulder.

"That's actually what I came here to talk to you about…"

Claude quirked an eyebrow at Sylvain over his drink and Bernadetta looked up at him with concern.

"Sylvain..?"

Sylvain looked down at her and gave her a smile that was supposed to be reassuring but only filled Bernadetta with a feeling of emptiness. Like if she let him do what he whatever he had planned, she would never see him again. And somehow the thought scared the hell out of her.

Bernadetta opened her mouth to intervene, when the world decided to do it for her, in the worst way possible.

For it was at that very moment that Caspar burst through the front door, panting with a huge grin on his face. “I found the guards!”

The pub went quiet, the only sound Caspar's labored breath as he looked around at all the stunned faces and asked, "What?"

Claude ran his fingers through his hair as he laughed nervously, “Ohhhh _shit_.”


End file.
